Shortly after taking off from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, Air India aircraft AI171, bound for Gatwick in London, crashed on Thursday. According to the airport, all flight operations at Ahmedabad’s Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport are temporarily halted till further notice. Air India confirmed the tragedy, stating that 169 of the 242 passengers were Indian, 53 were British, seven were Portuguese, and one was Canadian.
The Events Leading Up To The Fatal plane disaster are shown in this timeline.
At 1.38 pm, the aircraft took off from runway 23 of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport.
The crew signals a critical situation with a MAYDAY call shortly after takeoff. Following the distress call, the aircraft did not communicate again.
Additionally, Flightradar24 reported receiving the final signal from the aircraft just seconds after takeoff.
The aircraft rapidly lost altitude and crashed in a ball of flames at roughly 2:00 pm, sending thick black smoke plumes spiralling upwards in the air.
International Airport Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel was closed for operations.
“Air India confirms that flight AI171, from Ahmedabad to London Gatwick, was involved in an accident today after take-off. The flight, which departed from Ahmedabad at 1338 hours, was carrying 242 passengers and crew members on board the Boeing787-8 aircraft. Of these, 169 are Indian nationals, 53 are British nationals, 1 Canadian national and 7 Portuguese nationals. The injured are being taken to the nearest hospitals. We have also set up a dedicated passenger hotline number, 1800 5691 444, to provide more information. Air India is giving its full cooperation to the authorities investigating this incident,” the Airlines said.
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